Porto take on the visitors Nice in the round 5 match of UEFA Europa League – League Phase. The match will be played on Thursday, November 27th at Estádio do Dragão (Porto).
Porto had grown used to winning the Primeira roughly “every other year”, but recently Benfica and Sporting pushed them into secondary roles. More precisely, they were often left in third place — and this did not change even in 2024/2025, when Villas-Boas became club president. They did begin that season by lifting the Super Cup, but their subsequent league results were fairly mediocre for a club of their stature, once again failing to mount a real challenge to their Lisbon rivals. Under Farioli, however, they have surged into the lead this season, dropping barely any points in the Primeira. Their strong domestic consistency has translated into improved confidence, even if the occasional slip still highlights their need for greater stability. In the Europa League they opened with victories over Red Bull Salzburg and Crvena Zvezda, but later lost to Nottingham Forest and settled for a draw in Utrecht with the local side.
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Nice look completely toothless on the European stage. The Eagles, supported by their current investors, aimed to join the group of top French clubs. Only last season did they finally manage to finish among the top four, despite a heavy schedule. This earned them a Champions League qualifying spot, but they were eliminated immediately by Benfica, losing both legs 0–2. Their struggles continued in the current competition — first falling 1–2 at home to Roma, then suffering identical defeats away to Fenerbahce and Celta. Most recently, in November, they were beaten 1–3 at home by Freiburg. Their domestic form has been similarly unconvincing, with the team failing to win in half of their Ligue 1 matches and sliding into mid-table. Recent weeks have shown little improvement, as Nice continue to struggle with both creativity and game management.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Portuguese giants and their visitors from the French Riviera. All arguments favour a comfortable win for the Dragons, and not a narrow one. A handicap of -1.0 is reasonable, while a slightly riskier -1.5 Asian line also looks appealing.
Prediction for the match: Porto to win with -1.0 handicap.
